


Will You Give Us a Chance?

by JustAnotherMarvelGirl



Series: Our Love Is Stronger Than the Universe [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25799068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherMarvelGirl/pseuds/JustAnotherMarvelGirl
Summary: Experience life as a regular person?Yes. That was the plan.Fall in love while doing it?That definitely wasn’t.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Series: Our Love Is Stronger Than the Universe [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880671
Comments: 15
Kudos: 29
Collections: AUgust 2020, Scarlet Vision AU-gust





	Will You Give Us a Chance?

**Author's Note:**

> Written for AU-gust day 9: Royal AU
> 
> P.S. I know Segovia is a city in Spain, but it just sounded like an excellent name for a kingdom :D

“Please, father. I need this experience if I am to be king one day. I just want to feel normal for a time before I can truly be ready to rule,” Vision pleaded with his father.

All he wanted was to go to different countries, somewhere where no one would recognize him, and for the first time in his life experience what it was like to live without any expectations, without the eyes of the nation and the royal court constantly on him.

The first response was no, as was the second, and the third, but after a lot of convincing, the king finally agreed.

“Twelve months. Not a day more. And you will need to be protected at all times. You will take Rogers with you, I will accept nothing less,” the king finally conceded and Vision smiled.

He accepted all the conditions without a second thought.

After getting his father’s approval, Vision thought long and hard about what to do with the time that was granted to him.

He spent the first few months travelling through various countries, with Steve as a constant companion.

It was exhilarating.

Despite knowing he would visit those same countries in diplomatic function once he was crowned ruler of their small kingdom, the feeling of anonymity and the more authentic experiences he got could not be compared to the overly protocoled visits that awaited him.

Still, as months passed, Vision grew restless.

He felt a growing desire to enroll in a college across the ocean. He had gotten an unparalleled education from both domestic and international experts, especially when it came to diplomacy, economy, protocol and all the skills he would require to be a good ruler, but all of his education had been done exclusively at the royal court. He yearned to be able to discuss and debate his ideas with others, share his points of view for the simple purpose of learning, not because important decisions depended on him.

Vision knew that there would be issues, but, after the king’s generous donation of a library wing, the university suddenly decided to overlook the lack of official documents showing his previous education, as well as agreed to keep his identity a secret.

All that was left for Vision to do now was to move to the campus with Steve as his flatmate and spend the next semester having the time of his life before leaving his freedom behind and going back home to honor his family and duty.

It was supposed to be a foolproof plan, truly.

What he hadn’t factored in his plan though, was meeting _her_.

Wanda.

Experience life as a regular person?

Yes. That was the plan.

Fall in love while doing it?

That definitely wasn’t.

Vision sighed.

He had been drawn to her from the very start. From the first shy smile they had exchanged in class, over the first meal they had shared in the student restaurant, to the day he finally gained the courage to ask her out, Vision found it impossible to escape her pull.

Wanda was intelligent, and beautiful, and funny, and Vision didn’t know if it was because of the knowledge that their time was limited, or because the notion of being away from her was becoming too uncomfortable to think about, but a bit more than a month into their relationship he found himself asking her to move in with him.

The look on her face was surprised at first, and Vision wished he could take his question back, but then her smile widened.

“Yes!” she exclaimed, hooking her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

She moved in the next day, and Vision found himself glowing with happiness each morning he got to wake up next to her sleeping form, each evening he got to kiss her goodnight.

And yet, there was a constant shadow over his happiness.

She still didn’t know.

She knew him as Victor Shade, aka Vision, not Victor Stark, heir to the throne of Segovia.

He wanted to tell her, he really did, but the more time they spent together, the more difficult it was to broach the subject of his lineage. His future.

How would she react?

Would she move out?

Would she think everything he felt for her was a lie?

He didn’t want their relationship to end with the start of the new semester, he wanted to find a way for them to still make it work even after he went back home, but would she even want that?

Vision was in the middle of agonizing over what to do when he heard a knock on the door.

He frowned.

Wanda had the key and Steve was in the apartment with him, who else could it be?

He headed towards the door but Steve motioned for him to wait, getting into a defensive stance and going to check himself.

Vision relaxed when he heard Steve chuckle and open the door.

“Mother!” Vision exclaimed, rushing to hug the woman that entered the apartment despite his surprise. “What are you doing here, is father alright?”

“Yes, everything is alright,” she said with a smile, wiping the corner of her eye. “It’s just… You didn’t visit for Christmas or New Year’s and I missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Vision replied, tightening his hug.

“Happy, you can take the rest of the afternoon off, I’m sure Steven can look after us both,” she said to her bodyguard before turning back to Vision.

“So this is where you’ve settled?” she asked, and Vision nodded, taking her on a tour of the two-bedroom apartment.

He had just finished showing her the kitchen when the door opened again.

“Hey, Vizh, can you please–” Wanda said, two bags of groceries in her hands and her phone held in between her ear and shoulder, stopping when she noticed the unknown presence.

“And who is this lovely lady?” his mother asked, a beaming smile on her face.

“Oh. Mother this is Wanda, my girlfriend. Wanda, meet my mother,” Vision said, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

The nervous smile on Wanda’s face told him that she certainly hadn’t been expecting to meet one of his parents when she came back from her classes that day, but her smile still strengthened after a second. She lowered the bags by the door and whispered “I’ll call you back” into the phone before walking towards them.

“It’s Virginia, but please, call me Pepper,” his mother said once Wanda reached them.

“Wanda, I’m pleased to meet you,” she replied, smile widening. She settled under his arm, her presence relaxing him as it always did, but Vision still shot his mother a pleading look, a look he hoped she would understand.

Her expression turned shocked for a fraction of a second before she smiled again, but Vision knew she had understood.

She didn’t mention anything during the whole dinner with Wanda and Steve, but the moment Wanda went to change into something more comfortable, she turned to him and fixed him with a stern glare.

“When were you planning to tell her?” she hissed, folding her arms over her chest. “This isn’t like you, Vision. I know you wanted to be a regular civilian for a while, but the truth is, you’re not. And this doesn’t seem like a random fling, you two are living together, she deserves to know!”

“I… I know that. That is exactly the problem…”

“What do you mean?” she asked, expression softening a bit.

“I’m in love with her mom,” he admitted, watching as his mother gasped at hearing the rarely used endearment. “And I am frightened of her reaction. I cannot imagine my life without her.”

“Why would you have to?” Wanda’s voice came from the bedroom door, startling them both.

There was a small frown forming on her face at their reactions.

“Steven, would you please accompany me to the store? I promised my husband I’d bring him a souvenir,” his mother said, turning to leave the apartment.

They both stayed silent until they were alone again.

Wanda spoke first.

“Vision, what is going on? Does your mother not like me? I mean, she seems really nice, I thought–”

“What? No, no, of course she likes you. You are perfect, not liking you is impossible,” he said quickly.

He then realized he was stalling.

“Wanda, I… I haven’t told you everything you should know about me and I apologize, I really wanted to, but I just never found the courage …” he started.

“Vizh, what are you talking about?” Wanda asked, tilting her head to the side.

The crease between her brows had deepened sometime in between her leaving the bedroom and approaching him and all Vision wanted was to make her smile again.

He didn’t know if he ever would after he told her.

“You know that I am only here for one semester,” he started, and Wanda nodded.

“Of course, everyone knows that. You’re an exchange student and you’ll be going back after the semester ends but I… I thought you still wanted to give us a chance. I mean, there’s Skype, there’s planes, I guess I just assumed…”

Her face fell as she spoke and Vision knew he needed to reassure her.

“Trust me, Wanda, there is nothing I want more than to make what we have work even after I leave, I am just not certain whether you will _want_ anything to do with me after I tell you everything.”

“Right,” she sighed. “Your big and scary secret. Well, why don’t you finally tell me what it is and let _me_ decide how I feel about it?”

Vision nodded. He knew she was right.

“I came here under a fake name. Well, a fake last name, to be precise. My name really _is_ Victor and people really _do_ call me Vision, but my surname is not Shade. It is Stark,” he admitted.

Vision knew that his surname alone probably wouldn’t clue her in as to who he really was. Their kingdom was small and many people had never even heard of _it_ , let alone of its royal family.

“Why would you do that?” Wanda asked. Vision could feel her hands tense in his, but she made no move to remove them from his grasp.

“Both for my own safety and for the sake of anonymity. You see I…” he paused, unsure how to continue. How could he say this without sounding absolutely ridiculous?

“I am a prince.”

“A prince?” she chuckled, raising her eyebrow in disbelief. “Vizh, I thought we were being serious right now…”

“I _am_ serious, Wanda. I am the first in line for the throne of Segovia. I don’t know if you have ever heard of it, but that is the life I will be going back to. A life of a ruler.”

“Then what are you doing here?” she asked quietly, and Vision was almost certain there was a hint of sadness in her voice. What he wasn’t certain of was why. Because he had kept it a secret?

“I have lived my whole life within the confines of the palace walls, always doing what was expected of me. I just needed to see what else was out there, what more life had to offer,” he admitted.

Wanda’s face suddenly turned serious, the most distant he had ever seen her.

“Is that all I am to you?” she asked, the coldness of her voice doing nothing to hide her hurt. “Just an orphan girl you can have fun with for a few months before you go back to your kingdom and marry some rich noble girl?”

Vision felt his heart break for her. Is that what she believed? She was worth more to him than any other girl, noble or not.

“Never. Wanda, you have never been that to me. I knew I would get married one day, to secure the bloodline, but I have never believed that I would be so lucky to find true love in this life. Then I met you, and everything changed. I now know love exists, and I know it is too early for me to ask you for your hand in marriage, but I want you to know that there is no one I could imagine marrying one day but you,” the words rushed out of his mouth.

He watched as the look in Wanda’s eyes softened and her lips curved into a small smile.

“And what will the rest of your family or your advisors have to say about that?” she asked, smirking slightly.

Vision chuckled.

“These are not the dark ages anymore. I can marry whoever I want, and, while some of my father’s more traditional advisors might be against it, I know my family will accept you with open arms, like my mother already has. That is, if you decide to give us a chance. Will you give us a chance, Wanda?” he asked, eyes imploring her to say yes.

“I… Yes. Yes, Vizh, I will. I wish you had told me earlier, but I know you were doing what you thought was best. And this… this will take a lot of getting used to. I mean, I can’t believe I had dinner with a queen wearing ripped jeans,” Wanda laughed, making Vision’s heart soar.

She wanted to try. She wanted to be with him even after finding out all that being with him entailed.

“You’ve done far more and worn far less with a prince,” Vision teased, earning a laugh and a playful push against his shoulder.

“I love you, Wanda Maximoff,” he whispered against her hair as he pulled her into a hug.

“I love you too, Victor… Stark?” she chuckled. “You know what, never mind, you’ll always be Vizh for me.”

Vision laughed with her, their lips meeting for a quick kiss that was starting to grow deeper when he was distracted by his phone vibrating in his pocket.

“They want to know whether it is safe to come back,” Vision sighed.

“You should text them back, then,” Wanda teased, and all he wanted to do was to write it wasn’t, have some more privacy with her, but he knew there would be time for that later.

Because she had forgiven him.

Because he would still get to kiss her goodnight each evening.

Vision smiled even as he typed his response to Steve.

“So, Vizh, I was thinking,” Wanda started, drawing his eyes back to hers. “How small is your kingdom exactly? I mean, are there universities there? I kept avoiding any thoughts about the end of semester, but I can’t anymore. I was hoping to convince you to transfer here because the idea of spending so much time apart hurts, but this new information made me realize that won’t be possible. So maybe… maybe I could transfer there?” she suggested, eyes hopeful.

Vision couldn’t resist hugging her even tighter, lifting her off the floor.

“You would transfer?” he asked. “For me?”

“Well, the only other person I’m close to here is Nat. And I’m pretty sure I could convince her to come too,” she replied, voice a bit muffled by his neck.

“Thank you,” he whispered, lowering her feet to the floor when he heard the apartment door opening again.

Wanda smiled a bit nervously once his mother was back inside, addressing her with “Your Highness” and a curtsy, but Pepper made her way to the two of them and shook her head, pulling them both in a hug.

“There is no need for that here. I am just glad the truth is finally out. I have to leave now, but Wanda, can you do me a favor?”

Wanda nodded slightly, biting her lip as she waited for his mother’s request.

“Just… look after my boy until it’s time for him to come home.”

Wanda’s face relaxed as she agreed, taking his hand in hers.

As Vision watched the two women he loved the most smile, a realization hit him.

For the first time in months, the thought of what was to come did not fill him with dread.

It filled him with hope.


End file.
